Improvement in electro-magnetic annunciators



G. S. BUGKLEY. BLEGTROMAGNETIG ANNUNGIATOR.

No. 10,226.. Patented Nov. 15, 1853 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

onus. s. BULKLEY, or NEW Youn, u. Y.

l Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 10,226, datedNovembr 15.1853- To all-'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. BULKLEY,

'of the city and county of New York, in. the

State of N ew York, have invented a new and Improved- Electro-Magnetic `Annunciator for Hotels, &c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of a circuit-closer; Fig. 2, a back elevation of the portion of the apparatus which registers the communications; Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section of the same in the line a: a: of Fig-n2; Fig. 4, view ofadetached portion of the front of the same, and

Fig. 5 view of a part detached.

Lilie letters designate corresponding parts in all the gures.

My annunciator consists of circuit closers placed in the several rooms of the hotel, Snc., a register situated in' the office of the hotel, a branched circuitof insulated wires connecting the several circuit-@losers with the register, and a galvanic battery, combined and arranged as hereinafter described.

The register is arranged-within a suitable box or case, C, provided with a door, M, in its back side, and situated in aconvenient position in the oiice of the hotel. Its face is'screened by painting or paper or other means, except at the apertures, as seen atE, F, and G, Fig. 4, where the. communcations are read. Imdiately behind the face are situated several oblong plates, n n n, upon u one of which are wrltten,in horizontal lines, one above another, words expressing the several wants which the lodgcr may have, such as Fueh Water, Servant, 85e., in the manner shown in Fig. 5, and upon each of two or three other similar plates, according as the number of rooms is less or more than a hundred, lthe several arithxnetical figures, one above another, beginning with the cipher at the bottom and ascending in order to nineat the top, by the combination of which the number of the room whence the want is communicated yis designated in each instance, as hereinafter described. Said register-plates are attached to the lfrontedges of thin bars or strips E F G, which slide up register-plates the several numbers and communications on the respective plates are brought in view at the openings in the face of the register to be read. Upon the back edge V'bf each of said strips is a series of ratchteeth,'

g g, 5to., exactly corresponding in number and distance apart with the respective numbers and words on the register-plates. An es'- capement-lever, S, is pivoted between bearings t t,'near its center, behind each of said racks EF G, and is so arranged that when lits lower claw,fi, holds a tooth of the rackits upper claw, h, isv free from thesame, and vice versa, whereby at each double vibration of the lever a single tooth of the rack is allowed to pass down. The upper arm of each lever is drawn back b ,v a spring, s, and to the lower arm thereof is attached the armature of an electro-magnet,

which, when magnetized by an electric current, draws said armature and lower arm of the electric current is again interrupted.- After Y each partial or entire descent of the racks and yregister-plates, a bar, l, which'is drawn up by the clerk of theofiice pulling the line la, lifts all the racks at once, and then falls back by its own weight, so as not to obstruct the descent of said racks.

The several electro-magnets P T W, which operate the levers S S S, are xed firmly in proper positions opposite them upon a shelf, D. One end of the wire coiled around each magnet is joined to thev "main return-wire 5,. and the other end of each wire is joined to one of the several wires, 2 34, which extend separately through or near the several rooms of the hotel, where abranch from each goes to th.l insulated plates b c d of the circuit-closers in the order of the numbers 2 3 4 in Figs. l and 2.

A single return-wire, 5, passing by all the rooms, with short branches leading fromr each circuit-closer, is sufficient for all the communieating wire, and the battery H is' to be Vplaced `in its circuit in any convenient place where the gases arising from it will discommode no one, but not in the register-box C, where it is shown in the drawings only for convenience in representing its connection with the rest of the device.

An extra magnet, N, with an extra-wire, 1,

extending to the insulated plate a in each circuit-closer, is usually added for the purpose of striking the bell K in the register by means of a hammer, fr, attached to the upper arm of a vibratory lever, which has also the armature L of said magnet attached to it, and toits other arma spring, u, which holds the hammer from the bell, but which the magnet N overpowers when magnetized and brings the hammer against the bell. This additional Amagnet, though convenient, is not necessary,

in front of, but not-in contact with, said insu--v lated plates, and parallel with the range of their points. To this key is attached one end ofa coiled metallic spring, f, the other end of which is connected with the return-wire 5. It serves both to drawback the key B and to complete the connection between it and the said wire for the electricity to pass on. A small elastic metallic pin, c, projects from said key, so that it will just come in contact with the points of the insulated plates as the key B is moved forward in front ot' them.

The number of .points on the insulated plates f varies according to the use ot' the magnets connected therewith. The plate a, for striking the bell, requires but one point, which causes the hammer to strike once. The plates b c, for showing the number of the room, have respectively the proper number oi'Y points to obtain that'number. Thus the plateb in the drawings has six points, which will produce the number 5 on the register, and the plate c, having one point, will produce the cipher, the two combined making the number 50, which in this instance-is the number ot' the room, as shown in Fig. 4. The plate d, being the one by which the wants ot' the ledger are communicated to the olice, has as many connectingpoints as there are communications written upon the register-plate--ten in the present eX- ample.

A mark, as at to, Fig. 1, on the key B is used toshow when the key is brought to the proper point for closing the circuits in each case. Above it the words Fuel, Waten Servant- &c., being the same as and corresponding with those on the register-plate, are written opposite the point to which the mark w on the key is to be brought in order to close the circuit that number of times, which will bring the same word in sight on the face of the register.

The operation of the annunciator is in. the following manner When ledger wishesanything at the office he grasps the key B, which is situated in his room, and is always kept drawn back by the spring f, exceptwhen thus in use, and draws it forward directly under the word which expresses his desire. By this action the pin e first closes the circuit with the lplate a, which causes the bell -K to strike. It

then comes in contact successively with all the points of the-plate b, .whereby the circuit,

vwith its'wire, is closed six times, by which the magnet W is magnetized that number of times, and consequently six teeth of the rack F are allowed to pass down by its escapementlever S, and the figure 5 is brought in sight on the face of the register, as seen in Fig. 4. It

then closes the circuit once with the plate c,

whereby the magnet 'l is once magnetized, and a single tooth of the rack E allowed to escape, exposing the cipher on the face of the register, as seen in Fig. 4; and thus the number 50 of the room is communicated at the oiiice. It then closes and breaks the circuit with plate d a certain number of times, according to the order in which the word he desires to communicate is arranged over thekey, whereby the rack G is brought down that number of notches by the magnet P and exhibits the cor-responding word on the face oi the regy ister, as at G, Fig. 4, where the word Paper agrees withthe word over the key in Fig. -1. In like manner a communication is sent freni, any other room of the hotel. As soon as any one makes a communication at the otce the register-plates are to be raised with the cord ic by the clerk, and thus are placed in order `foranother communication.

arrangement of the several numeral characters and words or sentences necessary to designate the number of each room and the ordinary desires of the ledgers upon concealed registerv plates which are connected with and operated by .electro-magnets through suitable escapement or other equivalent devices, that ,by a single sweep of the key to the point denoting theparticular communication the lodger wishes to make the circuits of the said magnets will be closed and broken the required number of times to strike the bell and exhibit through apertures in the face oi' the register that num-- ber and word or sentence of the said registerplates which respectively designate the .number of the lodgers room and the communication made by him, substantially as herein set forth. v

The above specification ot'my improved electro-magnetic annunciator forhotels, 85e., signed this 23d day of June, 1852.

CHAS. S. BULKLEY.-

Witnesses:

Z. C. RoBBINs, E. VALENTINE. 

